Saibu
by Gentle Touch Ginger
Summary: When Tsubaki and BlackStar are captured by Arachnophobia, they must look to each other for support as they struggle to survive and return home. TsuStar. Cover picture by tiitemiissdu69 on DA.
1. Chapter One: Captured?

**Chapter One: Captured?**

_Hey guys, and welcome to my fanfiction! I started this a few weeks ago, and recently completed it. The whole story started out as a dream, that grew into an idea, that grew into a drabble, that grew into 12k words and counting of TsuStar. I thought I ought post it! _

_Lemme know what you think! I promise that BlackStar comes in next chapter. I know that Mifune is a little OOC, but I worked very hard, rewriting entire sections, to keep Tsubaki and BlackStar in character. _

_Please enjoy!_

* * *

It was a surprise attack on Baba Yaga's castle. Death had ordered it the night before all the troops launched their attack.

Tsubaki had no idea what had gone wrong. During battle, she and BlackStar had somehow been captured. She wasn't quite sure what had happened. Suddenly, BlackStar wasn't holding her anymore, and as she transformed into a human, she was quickly bound by one of Arachnophobia's agents. She couldn't see BlackStar, but she could hear him screaming at his captors.

"BlackStar! What happ-" Her call was cut off as cloth was shoved into her mouth.

"Tsubaki! I don't know, something struck me and I dropped you! I'm so sor-"

He had been gagged, too.

There was a strike of agony, and everything went black.

* * *

The next thing Tsubaki knew, she was on the floor of a cell. She was absolutely freezing, and all of her muscles ached.

"Uhhh…" she moaned and propped herself up on her elbow. "Wha….BlackStar? Where are you?"

She stumbled to her feet, and over to the cell door. There was only a tiny space to look out of. Tsubaki stood on tiptoe, and peeked out. All she could see was an empty hallway. No sign of BlackStar.

_Where is he? _Tsubaki thought, fear slowly creeping into her mind. _What did they do to him? Is he all right? There's no way he's anywhere near me; if he's awake. He'd be screaming and trying to get out. _

Footsteps echoed across the empty hallway. Tsubaki immediately laid back down, curling up so she would appear to be unconscious.

The door creaked open, and a cool voice echoed off of the cell walls.

"I know you're awake. I heard you call out to your partner."

Tsubaki sat up. She knew who this was.

"Mifune?"

The samurai didn't respond, but only walked closer to Tsubaki, who stood up and glared at him.

"Where's BlackStar? What have you done to him? And where are we? What do you want with us?"

"He's perfectly fine. He's just in a different cell block. He's still unconscious, but he should awake any minute. " Mifune said comfortingly, placing a hand on Tsubaki's shoulder. "Listen, I'm going to try and get the two of you out of here. I don't have much say, but I may be able to convince the Lady Arachne to allow you to return to Death City. You just have to stay calm. Don't make any of the guards angry, they're allowed to hurt you if they want. I'll do my best to keep you safe while you're here, as long as you trust me."

Tsubaki smiled at Mifune. He truly was a kind man. He cared about children, and she knew that he didn't want any harm to come to her.

"Thank you," She said. "Thank you so much. Where are we?"

"You're in the castle's prison." Mifune answered.

"Why are we being held captive? Why don't they just kill us?" Tsubaki asked, anger creeping into her voice.

"Lady Arachne wants you, Tsubaki. Your powers are incredible, and your potential is even greater. You are the only fighting member of the Nakatsukasa clan left. Lady Arachne wants you to aid her in defeating the academy."

"I would never, ever, agree to work-"

"I know. When Lady Arachne realized this, she suggested that we…we take you and your partner, and threaten his safety if you didn't cooperate."

"What?! How…how twisted is that!? They're going to hurt BlackStar! N-what? They can't. I-I can't work with Arachnophobia! I won't fight against the academy. Lady Arachne is a fool if she thinks that some threat would make me-"

"I know, but the idea was planted in her mind. I'm going to try and convince her that you'd never work with her, no matter what. I think if I play this right, both of you will make it out alive."

Tsubaki stared at her feet, trying to ignore the fear that was flooding into her. Her only hope was her enemy? If Mifune couldn't convince Arachne that Tsubaki was useless, she'd be forced to attack the academy. Or if Mifune did convince her …what if they killed Tsubaki? She could die, never see Maka, Soul, Kidd, or anyone from the academy ever again.

Hot tears rose into her eyes and blurred her vision. "I…what if she thinks I'm useless and decides to…" Her voice broke, and she shook her head angrily, refusing to lose her head. "To kill me."

There was a terrifying moment of silence, in which Tsubaki struggled to control her urge to cry and Mifune seemed to be searching for an answer.

Then he gripped Tsubaki's shoulders. "I will not let them kill you. I do not value Arachne's promise of safety for Angela more than I value the lives of two children. Do you understand me?"

Tsubaki nodded. "Th-thank you."

"I need to go and see BlackStar now. Is there anything you want me to tell him?"

"Just that I'm okay, and to keep a cool head."

Mifune nodded, and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing!" Tsubaki called. "Tell him that this isn't his fault. That blaming himself for us getting captured is silly; I don't blame him and and neither should he."

Mifune turned around, and smiled at Tsubaki. "You are a good partner. He's very lucky to have you. Stay safe, alright? I'll come and visit when I can."

Tsubaki nodded as he shut the door. She heard the lock click shut, and a bar scrape the metal door. She sighed, and leaned against the back wall of the cell. She had no idea what would happen to her. Tsubaki trusted Mifune, he was a very honorable man. She wasn't sure if he could get them out of this, though.

Tsubaki wasn't sure how long she sat there, undisturbed, but eventually she heard footsteps in the hallway again. Mifune? Maybe he had brought her something to eat, she was starving. Tsubaki heard someone fiddle with the lock, and she stood up, curious to see who her visitor was.

Her heart sunk as she saw an ugly mouth curl into a sneer.

It wasn't Mifune. It was Giriko, the dark weapon Maka, Soul, and Crona had fought and nearly been killed by. Tsubaki immediately recognized him from Maka's description.

"What do you want with me?" She spat, trying to ignore the fear rising inside of her. Her heart was beating so fast, it felt like she was going to throw it up.

"I wouldn't be so rude, little girl." Giriko answered, "You do know we're allowed to do what we want with you? As long as there's still a few essential pieces remaining." It seemed that he was enjoying seeing an academy student so helpless.

"You need me," Tsubaki answered. "You want to convince me to fight with Arachne, right? I can't do that in pieces. If I'm valuable enough to capture, than I'm valuable enough to be protected from nutjobs like you. Lady Arachne won't be pleased if she finds out you beat me up before I could be used."

Giriko snarled angrily, and there was flash of light as blades began to whirr up and down his left arm. "Shut your disgusting, little mouth, you filthy brat. What I'm allowed to do is none of your concern. The only thing you should be worried about is these blades that are going to cut you into pieces!"

"If you wanted to kill me," Tsubaki shouted back, "You would have come in and done it while I was unconscious!"

There was a moment of silence in which Tsubaki took a shaky step backwards, realizing how close Giriko had gotten to her.

"Oh, you're mistaken, little sword." Giriko responded, his voice deadly calm. "I don't want to kill you."

He raised his arm, and an insane grin lit up his face. "I want to hear you scream in pain! I want to feel your blood wetting my blades, see your flesh rip. I want the Reaper to know that he failed to protect his student, I want to know that even the greatest of the academy can bleed!"

Tsubaki stumbled backwards, but hit the concrete wall. She saw him raise his arm, and dived to the right, feeling bits of stone sting her arm as the blades hit the wall.

Giriko snarled in frustration, and spun around as Tsubaki scrambled to her feet. He lunged at her again, and though his hit wasn't fatal, the blades sliced a deep gash into her shoulder. She screamed in pain, and fell on her knees, reaching one hand to feel the cut. The minute she touched the ripped flesh, pain flashed through her body. She let out another cry of pain that was drowned in Giriko's laughter.

"So, the academy can fall. One of the greatest weapons a meister has ever wielded, crying over a cut."

Fury filled Tsubaki and she stumbled to her feet, one hand protecting the cut while the other gripped the wall. She was losing a good bit of blood, she felt dizzy and her vision was tainted with red. But she couldn't back down, not from this opponent. He couldn't harm her too greatly, right? She just had to survive until he got bored.

"We don't fall so easily," She snapped, wishing that she had the ability to back the statement up with an attack. All she could do was run from this enemy, she was a weapon with no meister. Under usual circumstances she would have been able to summon something, but Tsubaki was sure that Arachnophobia had placed some enchantment on the walls so that she'd be unable.

His arm was a normal one now, but Tsubaki knew he could still harm her without his blades. She sprung to the side, narrowly getting around him and retreating to another area of the cell.

"Little bitch," Giriko snapped, turning to attack her again.

The hand over the cut was slick with blood now, and she could barely stand. The maneuver had cost her a lot of energy. At this rate, she'd be unconscious soon. Tsubaki slumped against the wall and crashed to the floor, raising her blood-covered hand as a last effort to protect herself against the man slowly approaching her.

Laughter echoed against the cell walls again, and Tsubaki felt tears welling in her eyes. She didn't want any more pain. She stared at Giriko, unable to speak or do anything more but silently beg him to leave her alone.

In response, he kicked her hard in the stomach. The pain was stunning and unbelievably sharp. Blood rose in her throat and filled her mouth. She spat it out, tears knocked out of her eyes by the strength of the blow.

Her ears rang with Giriko's laughter and she curled around her injured stomach, tears rushing down her cheeks.

The next thing Tsubaki knew, she was being lifted in the air by her ponytail. She screamed, thrashing weakly. The hand holding her hair quickly moved to her throat, as the other one pinned her against the wall. His hand tightened on her windpipe, and it became much harder to breathe. As his hand tightened again, it became impossible.

"St…st….stop." She choked, her legs weakly kicking his. Through her fading vision, she saw him grin.

He dropped her, and she crashed to the ground on her injured shoulder. She was too weak to do more than whimper.

"Until next time, little sword." He said, turning around and strolling out of the cell.

Tsubaki lay on the floor, struggling to get her voice back so she could cry out. To whom, she didn't know. A guard, Mifune, even BlackStar, though there was little he could do to help her. She was afraid that the wound on her shoulder wouldn't stop bleeding without medical attention, and she had no intention of dying here.

"Hheell…pp…" She moaned, barely more than a hoarse whisper. "Hhellpp…pppleaseee….hhellppp…"

Tsubaki had no idea how long she called for help before someone finally came. It was a masked Arachnophobia guard. He rushed to her side.

"No…who's damaged the weapon? She's lost so much blood…Lady Arachne won't be pleased." The guard muttered.

She felt his cold hands finger her wounds and her vision began to fade. Tsubaki barely managed to stir before she slipped into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter Two: Bruises

**Chapter Two: Bruises**

_As promised, BlackStar right off the bat! Thanks to all of you who faved, reviewed, and followed the last chapter! :)_

_Big thanks to my friend Olive for agreeing the beta the story! You rock! ;) This chapter is dedicated to you. _

* * *

When Tsubaki reawakened, she was still in her cell, but someone was holding her. Her heart leapt as she realized who it was.

"BlackStar…" she moaned, rolling over to see if her assumptions were right.

Sure enough, there he was, his green eyes growing wide as he realized that she was awake.

"Tsubaki!" He cried happily, sitting up and inspecting her. "Tsubaki I was so worried, I can't…I'm going to rip that stupid chainsaw into tiny little pieces! Do you feel okay?"

Tsubaki nodded, and then touched her shoulder, wincing as prickles of pain spread through her flesh. She whimpered, and felt BlackStar's hand grip her own. "They stitched it up. That dumbass nicked an artery, that's why there was so much blood. What the hell happened?"

"Giriko…" Tsuaki mumbled, using her good arm to prop herself up. "H-he attacked me…cut my shoulder…and beat me up."

"That bastard. Why wasn't I-I shouldn't have let him go anywhere near you! Grahhh! What the hell was he thinking, beating_ my _weapon up like that!" BlackStar grabbed her good hand and helped over to the wall. "The next time I even catch a whiff of his scent, he's going down! I won't even need you, Tsubaki, I'll rip him limb from limb! I'll knock his teeth out and shove them down his throat!" He was pacing now, stomping from one end of the cell to the other.

The wall against Tsubaki's back suddenly felt much colder, and primal fear rose inside her. Her heart was beating in her throat again, and she felt like she was about to choke on it.

"BlackStar…" Tsubaki mumbled, and he immediately turned to face her.

"What's wrong?"

Tsubaki was embarrassed, she could feel her face flushing with color. "Can y-you stay?" She asked, staring at her lap.

"Of course!" BlackStar responded, dashing over to her quickly. "Never fear, BlackStar's here! I'm not going to let any of these Aracna-whatever people get close to you!"

Tsubaki smiled, all the fear from the last few minutes gone. She knew that BlackStar would fight to the end to protect her. It was one of the reasons he was such a good partner.

BlackStar sat down next to her, and very carefully snaked an arm around her shoulders. Tsubaki blushed again, but was grateful for his comfort. She was just happy that she wasn't alone here.

Tsubaki leaned against his shoulder, and she felt him flinch in surprise, but accept the touch. She was just so tired, and BlackStar's embrace was so warm. Her stomach also was burning with hunger and her throat was dry with thirst, but there wasn't anything either of them could do about that, but pray they were fed soon. Tsubaki didn't know how Mifune's attempt to free them was working, but she hoped that all contact between Giriko and them would stop. It seemed like what he had done to her was unrelated to Arachnophobia's plans for Tsubaki and BlackStar.

Tsubaki moaned as she shut her eyes, relaxing against BlackStar. "I wonder what everyone back home is doing," She murmured, trying to ignore her throbbing, sore muscles. Her stomach still hurt from Giriko's blow, and so did her throat, but she knew that it'd fade soon.

"Not sure," BlackStar answered, "probably trying to find us, or freaking out or something lame." Tsubaki felt his arm tighten around her shoulder, but she didn't think it was a motion of comfort. It was a motion of anger.

"BlackStar…." Tsubaki said warningly, but it was too late. His muscles tightened, and she turned her head to see his face contorted with anger.

"Your neck. The bruises are appearing," He responded in a deadly calm voice. "I can see that bastard's thumbprint, in purple and yellow and brown." BlackStar snarled. "Your stomach, let me see it Tsubaki."

"BlackStar!"

"Let me see it!" He roared furiously, moving to kneel in front of her, yet not touching her shirt himself. Compassion rose in Tsubaki. BlackStar was an idiot, but a gentlemanly one.

Knowing the result wasn't going to be good, Tsubaki carefully exposed her stomach. Right above her belly button, there was a blue, greyish area, lit occasionally by a spot of a sickly shade of yellow. Even Tsubaki winced when she saw it, and she refused to look into BlackStar's eyes, knowing the demonic glint that must be in them.

When she finally found the courage to look at him, she saw his internal struggle. He was fighting between staying with his partner or the urge to try for the hundredth time to kick the door down and destroy the person who had done this.

"Giriko…" BlackStar muttered, before suddenly switching to his highest volume. "I'LL RIP YOU APART! HOW DARE YOU MESS WITH MY PARTNER?! HOW DARE ANY OF YOU MOURNS COME CLOSE TO HER! I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT REAL FEAR IS! I'LL MAKE YOU ALL FEEL HER PAIN TENFOLD! JUST YOU WAIT UNTIL I GET OUT OF HERE! COWARDS, KEEPING ME LOCKED UP!" He roared, and Tsubaki flinched. She wasn't sure if they'd ignore BlackStar or come running, and she wasn't sure which one was the better option.

"BlackStar, I'm alright, really. Just stop yelling, okay? You'll get your chance to beat all of them up, but for now let's rest. For me?" Tsubaki asked calmly, feeling a little bad for adding in the "for me", even though it was in both of their best interests.

BlackStar looked down at the floor, then turned to face her.

"Tsubaki," He muttered, his voice hoarse. "Only for you. We can rest, if that's what you want. Just…if I ever get the chance to destroy these damn people, promise that you won't hold me back."

Tsubaki nodded very seriously, then lowered herself to the ground, and curled up, wincing a bit as she used sore and bruised muscles. She felt BlackStar's hand rest itself on her shoulder.

"Sleep," He murmured hoarsely. "I'm not going anywhere, and I'm not letting anyone lay a finger on you."

Tsubaki smiled, and with her good arm reached for BlackStar's hand. Soon, his calloused, rough skin was grasping hers tightly, and she squeezed it back, relaxing and fading off to sleep.


	3. Chapter Three: A Mosquito's Buzz

**Chapter Three: A Mosquito's Buzz**

When Tsubaki woke up, it was because she heard footsteps and felt BlackStar move.

"What's going on?" She muttered. She heard someone fiddling with the door latch, and felt BlackStar pull himself over her. Tsubaki opened her eyes and saw that BlackStar was on all fours, crouching over her in a protective position.

Her heart began to race, and she wasn't sure if it was because of BlackStar's protective nature or because she was afraid of who was coming.

Footsteps echoed across the cell, and she heard BlackStar growl. "Come to hurt her some more, you bastards? Well, I'm not letting you go anywhere near her, none of you, so you can just GO AWAY!" He roared, not leaving his protective stance over Tsubaki.

"I'd be a bit more polite, if I were you." A cool voice answered, and another set of footsteps entered the cell. "I'm just here to talk on Lady Arachne's benefit."

Tsubaki turned her head to see that the voice belonged to a short, older man with an unusually long nose. He was accompanied by two of Arachnophobia's guards. Tsubaki tried to prop herself up on her good arm, but BlackStar gently pushed her down. "I've got this," He mumbled.

Tsubaki nodded, knowing that interfering with BlackStar right now wasn't a good idea.

"I'd like to speak to your weapon," The man continued. "I'd appreciate it if you let her sit up." 

Tsubaki nudged BlackStar, and he reluctantly moved to stand in front of her as she pulled herself up. "What do you want?" Tsubaki asked hostility. Her throat was so dry, she was so hungry, starting to feel feverish, her wound was only becoming more painful, and all of her body ached.

"I have a proposition to offer you, little sword." The man responded, taking a step towards them despite BlackStar's snarl. "Lady Arachne regrets your injures very greatly-"

"The only thing she regrets is not inflicting them herself," Tsubaki snapped back. "No, she regrets that a tool like me was hurt before I could be useful to you stupid spiders!"

"Watch your mouth," The man said threateningly. "As I said, she regrets your injuries, and wants to know if you would be willing to become our ally and unlock your full potential." 

"No way!" Tsubaki snapped. "No way am I ever fighting against the academy! BlackStar's my partner, and I fight with him, and him only!"

"We thought you'd say that," The man responded coolly. "You do know that if you are unwilling to work with Lady Arachne, you present no use to us. Keeping you two alive would be a waste of our resources, and you would be killed quickly."

"I'd like to see you try!" BlackStar growled, "Tsubaki would never work with your stupid mistress, and you're not taking either of us down! Try going close to her, and just SEE what I do to you!"

"Separate them." The man said quietly, and the two guards moved forward. Tsubaki saw BlackStar's eyes widen in shock, but he stood his ground.

"YAHOO!" He shouted, launching a kick at one of the guards while aiming a punch at the other. The guards dodged the moves, but Tsubaki knew that BlackStar had been expecting that. As the guards tried to move past him, he successfully punched both of them, right in the stomach. They fell but then staggered to their feet.

Suddenly hands grabbed Tsubaki's arms and began to drag her backwards. She gasped in surprise. "Let me go!" She cried, flailing weakly.

"Tsubaki!" BlackStar cried, turning around to try and run to her, but the guards grabbed his arms as well.

"NO! Let go of her, you ass! Let go, LET GO! GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF OF HER!" BlackStar roared while kicking and struggling with as much energy as he could muster.

It was the little old man who was holding her, Tsubaki was sure of it. "Get off of me!" She snapped, her shoulder twitching in pain every step he dragged her.

"Just as Lady Arachne said," He announced, more to himself than anyone else in the room. "Humans are quite easy to manipulate if you know their weaknesses."

They had reached the corner of the cell. Spots were dancing around Tsubaki's vision, but she could still see BlackStar fighting the guards with all his strength.

"Little weapon," The man hissed in Tsubaki's ear. "Not cooperating would mean a very unpleasant outcome for you and your partner. I'm going to give you one last chance. Will you work with us to build a new world?"

"Never." Tsubaki snarled.

The hands gripped her tighter, and she let out a whimper. She felt the man's knee slam into her spine, and she arched her back and screamed in pain.

"STOP IT! STOP HURTING HER YOU BASTARD!" BlackStar screamed, struggling to free himself of his captors even more desperately.

"Fight with us!" The man shouted, shaking Tsubaki. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've been? Capturing both of you alive was no picnic, I can assure you! Stitching that wound up was no walk in the park! You owe us this. Lady Arachne can unlock your true potential, you can be the greatest weapon the world has ever seen! Your powers come from Lady Arachne, you must repay her by helping her in this fight! You selfish little bitch," The man threw her to the ground. "You are going to help us, if you want to or not! If you don't, you can rot in this cell! Or you can watch your partner die! There is no option!"

Tsubaki's vision was blurred now, and everything was swirling. The man was kneeling in front of her, his ugly face a foot away from her own. She ignored the dizziness, propped herself up and spat in the man's face.

He let out roar of fury, and she saw him draw his hands back and prepare to strike her. Tsubaki raised her good arm up to deflect the blow, but the blow never came.

"STOP!"

It was Mifune, Tsubaki recognized his voice.

"Why are you hurting her? The weaker she is, the less able to fight she'll be!" Mifune roared, pushing the other man aside and inspecting Tsubaki. "This cut is infected, and she's dehydrated. If we leave her like this, or" Mifune turned to glare at the other man. "Continue to harm her, she'll barely survive for two more days. Lady Arachne doesn't want her dead, right?"

"Of course not," The other man snarled. "You are good with children, Mifune, so I suppose you have some authority when it comes to her care."

"Let the boy go," Mifune said to the guards, who released BlackStar. "Go and fetch some food, water, and a medical kit. This needs to be treated now."

Mifune glared at the man. "I don't see a reason for you to stick around, _sir." _He spat, unable to contain his fury.

"I'll let you handle this one, Mifune." The man responded as he walked out of the cell. "But if you cannot convince the weapon to fight, she and her partner will die. We aren't going to let a meister and weapon pair as strong as them leave here in peace."

And with that, he was gone.


	4. Chapter Four: Choices

**Chapter Four: Choices**

Tsubaki didn't remember much of what happened next, just a blur of Mifune and BlackStar's faces staring at her and pain in her shoulder. She awoke for good on a cot, but she was completely alone. She felt much better. There was a glass of water sitting on a table next to her, and she reached for it, draining the glass in a few gulps. Tsubaki propped herself up on a pillow, and felt her shoulder. It was bandaged and much less painful.

She heard the door creak open and gasped, then relaxed when she realized that it was Mifune who had entered. "Oh….it's you. Where's BlackStar?" 

"I couldn't convince them to keep you two together. I barely have any say in these matters anymore." Mifune answered, walking over to her bedside. "Things aren't going well. Your refusal to cooperate is making many very angry. My presence is the only thing that stopped some of our more violent members from smothering you."

Tsubaki gasped, then muttered "I'm not fighting against the academy".

"It's one of the only options you have left." Mifune said, "Tsubaki, I'm trying to protect you. You're a child, and you have a kind soul. I don't want any harm to come to you. If you fight for Arachnophobia-"

"I'll feel my friends' blood on my blade!" Tsubaki snapped.

"They're going to kill your partner," Mifune snapped. "And then they'll kill you! After this war's over, you can go home! This is the only option that ends with you alive!"

Tears rose in Tsubaki's eyes. "I-I ccan't…I ddon't want…"

"I know," Mifune said. "And I'm sorry you're in this mess."

"Why are you supporting these people? Don't you see what they do? Your sword is supposed to protect children, not an organization that captures and kills them!"

"Their promise of safety for Angela-"

"If you rescued two DWMA students and returned them home safely, there's no way the academy would ever hurt Angela. Lord Death would be so grateful to see us alive, he'd welcome you with open arms. Get us out of here, and you can find safety at the academy." Tsubaki pleaded.

Mifune huffed, "Can you guarantee it? Can you look me in the eyes and swear that Angela would be safe there?"

Doubt flooded Tsubaki. The academy did hate witches…and when Angela was older…

No. She wouldn't let anyone, even Lord Death, hurt Angela at the academy. She would fight for Angela as Mifune had for her.

Tsubaki turned to look at him. "Yes," she responded. "Yes, she'll be safe there."

Mifune sighed, and looked at the ceiling. "This isn't going to be fun, busting you two out. If you were usable, it'd be a different story, but in this state, even transforming would probably be impossible. I'm not even sure BlackStar is going to be much help, Mosquito beat him up an hour or so ago."

"What? Is he alright?"

"He'll be fine. He's just bruised." Mifune answered casually.

"Why can't I see him?"

"Arachnophobia wants to limit your contact. There's no reason to keep the two of you together, you'll just cause trouble."

Tsubaki stared at her hands. "I hate these people." She muttered.

"I know, me too." Mifune answered. "Eat." He placed a bowl of rice in front of her with a pair of chopsticks sticking out. "I'm going to check on BlackStar, I'll just be gone for a minute, scream if anyone comes in."

Tsubaki nodded, scarfing the rice down gratefully. She leaned against the pillows, glad to finally have food.

Alarms began to blare through the building. Tsubaki jerked up, spilling rice everywhere. What was wrong?

She could hear guards rushing around, but none of them entered her cell. She wondered if Mifune was with BlackStar, and if they would come to try and get her out.

Then the door was thrust open.

It wasn't Mifune, or BlackStar.

It was Giriko. Fear rose in Tsubaki, and her heart began to race. She had no way to defend herself. 

"Get away from me, you've done enough!" She shrieked. "Get away, get away!"

"Little sword," Giriko snarled, "You've caused me so much trouble. I almost was locked up to control my bloodthirst, to 'protect the weapon'. Pfft. You're useless. You'll never work for us, and deep down Lady Arachne knows it. She'll forgive me when I end your pitiful little existence."

Blades began to whirr on both of his arms. "What should I cut?" He asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"NO!" Tsubaki screeched. Where was Mifune? BlackStar? Anyone! "No, no, get away!"

She grabbed the empty glass and threw it at him, but he simply reached his arm up in front of his face, and the glass was roughly cut into two pieces. The sound of them hitting the floor and smashing was drowned in the constant drone of the alarms.

"Nice try, little sword."

She summoned all of her remaining courage, and let out one last scream. Tsubaki hadn't planned for it to be a call for anyone, but as the words rose in her throat they shifted into a name.

"BlackStar!"

He raised his arm, and Tsubaki shut her eyes, sure that his ugly face would be the last thing she ever saw.

Yet the blow never came.


	5. Chapter Five: Rescue

_Hey! :) I decided to post this chapter along with Chapter Four because it was so short. This part of the story doesn't separate well, so I'm sorry for weird endings. :( I wrote this all as one continuous piece. _

_If you see any technical errors, PLEASE let me know! :) _

* * *

Tsubaki slowly opened her eyes, and let out a gasp of surprise and excitement.

A familiar red scythe was raised above Giriko's head. He crumpled to the ground, the blow having knocked him unconscious.

Maka was behind him, proudly wielding Soul. "Tsubaki!" Maka cried happily. "You're alive…what happened to you?"

"He did," Tsubaki answered, nodding at the unconscious Giriko. "Let's just get out of here, okay? I'm not sure where BlackStar is, they separated us a few hours ago. Mifune's with him though, so he should be safe for now."

"Can you walk?" Maka asked.

"Not sure." Tsubaki answered, sliding out of bed and testing out her feet. She managed to stand, but her legs were shaking violently and the effort was sapping her strength. She quickly sat back down again.

"Nope." She muttered sadly.

"Can you transform? I could carry you in weapon form."

"Nope. I'm sorry Maka, I'm practically useless right now."

"It's alright." Soul said, his face appearing in the scythe's blade. "I'll carry her, Maka. We already took out all the guards, and once we meet up with BlackStar and…who did you say was with him?"

"Mifune," Tsubaki answered. "He's a kind samurai whose been helping us as much as he can. He's a very gentle man, he fights to defend a young witch, Angela. He was about to help us escape when you arrived, actually. I suggested that if he returned us to the academy, Lord Death probably would protect him and Angela in thanks for our safe return."

"He probably would," Maka responded as Soul switched to human form. Tsubaki grabbed his neck with her good arm, and he lifted her up, holding her underneath her knees and the area just below her shoulders. Tsubaki felt his hand brush the rise of her chest, but quickly reposition it's self to a lower area.

She winced a bit as Soul began to walk, his arm rubbing against her still very sore shoulder.

"What the hell happened to you, Tsubaki?" Soul asked angrily. Tsubaki knew he was inspecting the marks on her neck and the bandages on her shoulder.

"It's…it's nothing, really, I'm okay…" She muttered sheepishly.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Soul said quietly.

Tsubaki nodded, and heard Soul growl in anger. "Maka, we just left him lying there. We should have ripped him apart."

"There's no time," Tsubaki said, desperation in her voice. "We need to find BlackStar! Mifune told me that he's hurt too. I'm not even sure if they've given him any food or water! We have to find him!"

"We will," Maka responded calmly. "I'm sure he's alright, Tsubaki. He's BlackStar."

"What do you mean, no food or water? You two have been here for two days, and you haven't had a thing to eat?" Soul asked. They were running now, though Tsubaki wasn't sure where they were.

"Two days?" Tsubaki mumbled. "It's been that long? No wonder my throat was so dry." She then realized that she hadn't answered Soul's question. "Mifune gave me some water and rice a few minutes ago, but I'm not sure about BlackStar."

"Where is he?!" Maka shouted, and they all screeched to a halt. "We've checked every cell in this row!"

"I'm right here, you idiots! You really think that I couldn't escape on my own in all this confusion?"

Soul spun around, and Tsubaki raised her head to see BlackStar and Mifune with Angela on his shoulder standing behind them.

"I apologize for the delay," Mifune said. "We had to retrieve Angela, but I see that your friends have already met up with you." He turned to Maka. "I assume you're the one who broke in here?"

"Me and Kidd." Maka answered. "He's another student. We came here on our own to save Tsubaki and BlackStar."

"Brave." Mifune said. "We ought to get moving."

"Hey, Soul, why are you carrying Tsubaki?" BlackStar snapped, "I can carry my own partner, ya' know."

"Then you carry her," Soul snapped. "You think I want to?"

Tsubaki blushed. "BlackStar, maybe it's best Soul-"

"Tsubaki I carry you every day into battle, I can carry you out of a building!"

"Of course, you're right." Tsubaki replied brightly.

Tsubaki felt BlackStar's strong arms lift her out of Soul's, who grinned then transformed back into a scythe. She placed her good hand on BlackStar's neck, and ignored the pricks of pain as they began to run. Tsubaki saw a few guards run in front of them, but Maka and Soul cut them down easily. They reached the entrance without much trouble, actually.

Outside, however, was a different story.


End file.
